Letters: On cultural exchange
The following open letter to the citizens of Hérouxville, Que., was published in Le Devoir and The Gazette:
As faculty and students in the Religious Studies Department at Concordia University, we have been following with great interest the unfolding story of the cultural guidelines recently established by your community. In fact, due to our special situation, we believe that we may have something to offer.
Not only is Concordia University a central location for people of all backgrounds and cultures to come together and learn from each other, but in the Department of Religion, all doctoral students participate in a year-long seminar which brings together the doctoral students from the religion departments of the Université du Québec à Montréal as well as the Université Laval.
This seminar permits emerging scholars to get to know each other as well as each one’s specific research interests. However, beyond the academic exchange comes an even more fruitful interaction: the personal and cultural.
Perhaps the most significant lesson learned over these months of schooling is the one gained from simply meeting and getting to know people from other cultural communities, including our own.
The admixture of anglophones and francophones from many diverse cultural communities who are studying an even larger variety of religions and ethnic communities has confirmed to us one important lesson: cultural diversity and pluralism is a fruitful, engaging, and successful paradigm for contemporary societies, especially in North America.
In fact, the success of this program lies in the invaluable education about the diversity of religious and ethnic groups whose presence in our society helps construct the Québec that we all live in. It is in light of such a successful and integrative program that we make the following offer to you, good citizens of Hérouxville:
It would be an honour to share with you the knowledge that we have gained in our experience of pluralism. We are therefore offering to you the opportunity to learn of the success of religious pluralism in one or more of several ways.
We can offer workshops and discussion groups from any of our highly trained and informed professionals. We can deliver lectures or conferences. We have books and videos and even personal testimony from individuals.
We would be pleased to use our knowledge and experience in a pragmatic and significant way to enhance our collective homeland: Québec.
Steven Lapidus (doctoral student), Donald Boisvert (professor), Norma Joseph (professor & chair)